/ck/ - Food & Cooking

It's probably overpriced compared to a more industrial, professional kitchen kind of blender, but my mom has one and it's ridiculously powerful and well engineered to move the liquid through the blades consistently.

>>5657051
YouTube views.

Hot soups?
In a professional kitchen they're really handy, but spending 300 bucks on one for home use seems kind of silly to me. I guess you'd never have to buy another blender, probably has a good warranty.

Blends better

>>5657056
>I still really fucking want one.

>>5657051
No. This is all you need.

>>5657051
I have a kitchen aide blender... It works fantastically. I can only imagine it was 200 bucks cheaper than op pictured. Money well saved imo

>>5657062
i have that exact model

>>5657059
so, what, faster, smoother, more liquified?

>>5657062
underpowered

>>5657064

>I'm poor

>>5657051
One of the big things is something called "duty cycle". It is how long you can run the device in a ten minute time frame before you have to shut it off to let it cool. Like 2/10 duty cycle is 2 minutes of continuous run time out of ten minutes. So, it'd run for 2 mins just fine, but then start to overheat if you went further.

Apply this to cheap blenders and expensive blenders. The main concern is the motor's cooling system, if it has one. I've killed a number of cheap blenders ($12 range) due to overheating them. They ran fine, but the instant I turned them off the fan, which is attached to the motor, also stopped and the remaining heat had nowhere to go. So, they fried pretty quickly as soon as I shut them off.

Some of the more expensive blenders have thermal sensors that will trip and cut power to the motor before it gets too hot. Some even have a separate motor with a fan that helps cool the motor when you stop using the main motor to prevent it from overheating.

More expensive blenders often times have better torque and are heavier duty in what they can cut/chop through with out stalling the motor.

>>5657133
>More expensive blenders often times have better torque and are heavier duty in what they can cut/chop through with out stalling the motor.
What do you put in your blender to block the motor?
I only use my blender to make milk shakes and curry paste, and I don't really see what else do to with it beside smoothies.

Im thinking of bulking a blendtec blender

i will use it to blend raw veggies like sugar cane

would it work?

I've had a Vitamix for a few years (was a combined birthday and xmas gift from parents). From what I hear, they last pretty much forever.

I use it to grind things into flour/powder, make smoothies, make nut butters, soup. If you're not into doing lots of different things with it, it's not really worth the investment. I mean, if all you want is smoothies and milkshakes, you really can just go to a thrift store and get some dead old lady's blender for $5 and be good.

>>5657163

With a more powerful blender you can make smoothies with frozen fruit, crush ice, puree vegetables to a very fine texture for drinks, soups, or sauces, make peanut butter, make flour from rice, almonds, etc, and so on.

>>5657188

I've got a blendtec and it has no problem with sugar cane.

>>5657222
thank you

i live a crazy old person who wants to blend hard stuff like ginger

looks like im gonna buy one soon

>>5657125
In "the millionaire mind" the author explained that statistically, rich people are more likely to own mid grade gadgets and toys, american made second hand cars, and other cost saving "smart choice" products that get the job done just as well but don't waste all their money (which the book argues is a life long pervasive attitude that actually leads to them being rich)

A cnn article recently said that iq was linked to buying cheaper store brands, where low iq folk bought name brand and high iq, college grad and doctors and lawyers were most likely to by generic medicines and store brands.

In short

>your low iq and low bank account is showing

>>5657226
I also have a Blendtec. I blend ginger in it with no trouble.

>>5657064
More like 400 bucks cheaper than op picture.

Kitchenaide's top of the line blender is about twice as powerful as most kitchen blenders. Its a solid deal for a top/mid tier blender, without going beast mode and getting a 4 times more expensive 2 or 3 hp unit. Which is overkill unless you want to blend iphones and make youtube vids.

As far as blenders go:
50 dollar unit - please no
100 dollar unit - probably about right
>150 dollar unit - waste of money

At home, it's a luxury, like any other time you buy the upscale or professional version of some commonly available cheap product.

I have a blendtec and I use it a lot. Is it overkill for what I need.. yes, but it will last forever and can blend through pretty much anything.

In other words, its not an essential item, you can make due with the cheap walmart blender, but if your got the money it's not the worst thing to spend it on.

>>5657163
Make cilantro chutney, salsa, etc

>>5657051
Better off getting investing the $$$ in a good food processor.

According to Cooks Illustrated, the Breville for $200 is just as good and less noisy than the Vitamix. So save some cash.

>>5657188
>>5657222
>>5657235
>>5657347


Word is from CocksIllustrated that Blendtec is a shit-tier blender.


>>5657302
Also word from Cocks is that the Kitchenaid is also not recommended/10.

Why are food processors and blenders separate products? They both seem to spin something.

>>5658487
why are milk frothers and salad spinners separate products? they both seem to spin something.

>>5657227
That's pretty interesting. I always just read comparative reviews for things, though, and try to find the "best buys". Sometimes name brand items really are the best (like Tide, All Clad), but you can usually find something else that's nearly as good, but cheaper (like Wisk, Tramontina).

I do feel that name brand pain relievers work better than generic, though.

>>5658352
What blender did they recommend? I really doubt you can make smoothies of any kind with a food processor

>>5657227
Seriously, fucking poorfags buying name brands just to prove to themselves that they aren't poor. I don't fucking get it. I'm a poorfag who likes nice things too, but I don't spend a 20% premium on almost-identical products just so I can name brand shit around the house.

>>5659239

Look, if you want smoothies, just get a $20~25 bella cuchina. I've had two of them and they last for years. The only time they broke was when I plugged them into an outlet in a foreign country and they caught fire. It's like a Magic Bullet but cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/BELLA-12-Piece-Rocket-Blender-Stainless/dp/B001E7XGX6

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/9690271903909580455?gs_rn=51&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=AFcl4HnF06Cisk1d5c0rXA&ds=sh&pq=shopping&cp=20&gs_id=a&xhr=t&q=bella%20cucina%20blender&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=bella%20cucina%20blender&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.72197243,d.cWc&biw=1329&bih=833&tch=1&ech=3&psi=R3zeU5PQM6bnsATyuoGgBA.1407089727602.3&sa=X&ei=UXzeU-GvEOLisATmgIKABQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFsQ8wIwAA&prds=freeship:1

As for what Blender they recommend, they gave the Vitamix and the Breville 'co-winner' awards. - and they only use the Breville in their own kitchen for a year or so. The Breville also outscored the Vitamix, so I'm not even sure why they labeled the Vitamix the winner.


The hemispherical shape of the Breville bowl also seems to make it superior.

Anyway, here's their text:

>>5659239
FTA:
OVERVIEW:
UPDATE: January 2014

When we rated blenders in our September/October 2012 issue, we highly recommended the Hemisphere Control Blender ($199.99) by Breville; it was the co-winner with our high-end favorite, the Vitamix 5200 ($449). But we promised to keep an eye on the Breville’s long-term durability. Since then, we’ve made more than 400 smoothies in a single copy of the Breville blender, choosing a motor-challenging combination of juice, chunks of frozen fruit, and raw kale. We also purchased six more models for routine use in the test kitchen. The blender that made hundreds of smoothies is still going strong; however, we did have some issues with three of the six kitchen machines. In all cases, the motors worked fine, but problems centered on a tiny button on the base. It’s a secondary safety device, which starts the motor when activated by pressure from a slim plastic rib on the inside bottom of the jar. One jar had a broken rib, keeping it from pressing the button. But other faulty machines with intact ribs were more puzzling: If we pressed hard on the outside of the jar, the switch engaged. Breville engineers examined the machines and concluded that food had dribbled into the button, making the switch sticky, so it failed to engage—so we will be sure to try not to let food drip in that area. Given that our blenders experience unusually heavy use, we still recommend this machine. That said, if you subject your blender to heavy-duty use, you should consider investing in the Vitamix, a powerful commercial-style blender with a seven-year warranty.

>>5657104
Not really, no.

>>5657051
You can make an IPod smooth with an expensive blender.

>>5657051
Also if you do want to step up your game, go scientific.

>>5659368
>>5659369
alright, that's interesting. I make smoothies every single day and I've been doing it in a cheap oster. The machine is a piece of crap and terribly designed (the off button is the same as the ice crush button, the jar doesn't fit soundly in the base, and recently sounds like a dead bird got caught in it) but it makes smoothies well enough. I might get the breville

>>5659368
Something to be said for. 20 dollar blender. Even if it only lasts you 2 years... You could replace it every 2 years for 40 years and still be cheaper than the blendtec/vitamix...

I've had my kitchenaide for 7 years and its going strong... I probably only use it maybe a dozen times a year on average though.

It has almost an identical power rating to the breville... And has some digital smarts built in to regulate blade speed and power based on mixture composition. It also has a slow start feature so that it doesn't blast stuff at full force the second a button is pushed. Its not the digital logic of a vitamix or somethng... But for its price point it seems very capable.

I am interested in the hemisphere design of the breville, and wonder if thats what its main feature is for why cookillustrated said breville over kitchenaide, even though kitchenaide is 40% cheaper.

I have a feeling the hemisphere stuff is just marketing gimmick.

With blades spinning at several thousand rpm, i really don't think the shape of the base matters much. As evidenced by the fact that non hemisphere blenders have been making excellent smoothies for what... 60 or 70 years?

>>5659368
>http://www.amazon.com/BELLA-12-Piece-Rocket-Blender-Stainless/dp/B001E7XGX6
>25$ in US
>£70 in Britbong land.

Fuck.

>>5660270
>Something to be said for. 20 dollar blender. Even if it only lasts you 2 years.

Sure, if you only use it every once in a while, that works great.

OTOH if you use it often, a cheap blender craps out in 2 months, not 2 years.

I got about 1 month out of cheap ones from wal-mart. Kitchenaid about 2 years then the teeth on the "drive disc" sheared off. I currently have a refurbished Blendtec I got off Ebay back in 2007. It's still going strong, and leaves a much better texture for soups and sauces than any other blender I've used.

>>5660309

Who cares? It's too small to be practical anyway. Why would you buy a blender that's only good for that small of a "jar"? That's like buying a car without a passenger seat.

>>5657051
If you are paying that much get one of these, much more useful and it has tons of attachments

>>5660329

Not really comporable. If you're counting attachments it costs a lot more than a high-end blender like a vitamix or a blendtec.

It's also quite a bit different: it's speeds are much slower, more like a food processor than a blender. A different tool for different jobs.

>>5660317
>That's like buying a car without a passenger seat.
So a single-seater motorcycle? If you know you're only going to make one or two servings of something most of the time that size is fine; most of them come with multiple cups so you can prepare more at once than you think. Is the blender kind of specialized? Yes? If it still does what you need it to there's really no problem with that though.

>>5657133
I also heard more expensive blenders use a more powerful motor and then underclock it on purpose so its much harder t overwork it. not sure though.

>>5661282
>underclock it
>underclock
>motor
Oh /g/.

>>5657062

>tfw still using that blender I inherited from my Grandmother

for those that say a $30 blender is all you need, then you've never owned a high performance blender. there is no substitute for a good blender in the kitchen. the breville mentioned is not a high performance blender despite what America's test kitchen says. you cannot buy a good blender for less than $200.

I have demoed many different brands over the years and for the chef or even home enthusiast nothing will beat a vitamix. if you are serious about cooking do not buy a blendtec unless you just want to totally pulverize everything all the time. the blades are dull for safety but it makes it useless for rough chops because it needs high speeds to work.

there are a couple of other options to shelling out $500+ for a new vitamix. a refurbished one with the same 7 year warranty can be had for around $350-$400. oster makes the 1400 watt versa which is around $250. not as solid as the vitamix but still a good value. and omniblend makes the omni V for about $250 as well. it's about on par with the versa. don't buy a ninja as they are pieces of wal-mart shit and are not high performance blenders. you will not be satisfied with the results.

>>5661519 cont.

a couple of good tests for blenders are a smoothie with raspberries and spinach. the raspberry seeds should be completely pulverized and undetectable and all spinach leaves will be totally blended with no chunks of leaf anywhere and completely smooth. an avocado smoothie using the whole pit is another good test. the pit will be totally disintegrated and undetectable.

the other test is hummus. a high performance blender will create the tahini from whole roasted sesame seeds in a matter of seconds. no whole seeds should remain and the mixture will be nothing but sesame cream with nothing else added. next add the beans and other ingredients. no water what so ever just some olive oil. the blender should be completely full and the hummus should be done in 90 seconds. you will not have to scrape the sides and there should be no bogging down of the motor. the force of the motor will pull the ingredients down in a central vortex so that everything is blended properly. the same can be done

when your sub $200 blender can do these things let me know.

with a vitamix you can throw a pack of bacon into a tomato sauce and blend it down to nothing, it's ridiculous. drastically reduces the need to sift stuff.

>>5661519
what makes you say the breville isn't good enough?

>>5661520
My 120 buck kitchenaide does these things just fine.

>>5660329
what is this?

>>5662595
not even close

>>5662511
when I used the breville it would not completely break down leafy vegetables. there were always chunks of leaves left in the container. it's just not powerful enough. if you're looking for a budget priced blender I would recommend the 1400 watt oster versa. make sure it is this particular one. there is an 1100 watt one that is sold in stores and I wouldn't recommend it.

>>5663623
a bad mother fucker

>>5663629
Still trying to justify wasting 500 bucks on a blender?

Why don't you go pulverize a couple more avocado pits and iphones. Make a couple youtube vids while you are at it.

>>5663664
Ok. Thanks man.